A host of comedy talent -- including Fred Armisen, Janeane Garofalo, Wyatt Cenac, Eugene Mirman (who'll be on tour with Bob's Burgers), and current SNL castmembers Mike O'Brien and Michael Che -- will be at Littlefield on March 11 for show being billed as "A Brooklyn Free Space Fundraiser Spectacular Evening of Entertainment!" Jon Glaser will be your host for the evening and tickets are on sale now.

Glaser, who you may have seen recently on episodes of Girls or Parks and Recreation, will be appearing on Sunday (2/22) at Shea Stadium for The Macaulay Culkin Show (which does not actually feature the Pizza Underground member). He'll be there for a live reading of a screenplay, "Whenever Possible Forever," that also features Jake Fogelnest, Joe Rumrill, Julio Torres, Ted Shumaker, and Tynan Delong. Glaser gives the backstory on this:

about a year ago, Brett Davis messaged me on Facebook asking me to do his show. I wasn't available, and he basically said there was an open invitation to do the show "whenever possible forever". Highly enjoying that phrasing, I jokingly challenged him to write a screenplay called "Whenever Possible Forever". I immediately received an opening scene in response. I wrote back something along the lines of "You keep writing, I'll keep reading." I'd receive new scenes every week or so, and would volley back with continued encouragement. This went back and forth for about a few months, until finally, at another comedy show, approximately 35 hard copy pages were placed in my hands, printed out on different kinds of mismatched paper. This dumb bit turned out to be something very weird, creative. smart, stupid and funny, and the world needs to know about it!

Blondie singer Debbie Harry has an upcoming NYC residency at Cafe Carlyle, and since we last posted, it's been expanded. It now runs from March 24 to April 4 with an 8:45 PM show each night, as well as newly-added 10:45 PM shows on Friday, March 27 and Friday, April 3. You can make reservations by phone at 212.744.1600 for the newly-added late shows. The others are sold out.

Theater Mania reports that Debbie will also appear at Upper West Side theater Stage 72 on March 14 and 16 for the Celebrity Autobiography series, which features "a line-up of rotating performers who read--in both solo and ensemble pieces-- the actual words and stories written by the famous and the infamous in their autobiographies." The 3/14 show also features Pamela Adlon, Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garofalo, Ralph Macchio, Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel; and on 3/16 it's Adlon, Dratch, Garofalo, Pack, and Reyfel once again, plus Tate Donovan and Alan Zweibel. Tickets for both are on sale now.

The film Wet Hot American Summer came out Summer 2001 and didn't do much at the box office but had cult hit written all over it. A satire of '80s summer camp movies, it was written by David Wain and Michael Showalter of The State and featured most of the rest of that comedy in the cast. It also starred a lot of folks who'd soon be a lot more famous -- Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, and Elizabeth Banks, to name a few -- and featured songs by Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren. You probably know all this.

Director David Wain, and pretty much all of the original cast (including Cooper, Rudd, Pohler and Banks), are going back to camp for an eight-part miniseries, subtitled "First Day at Camp," that will air on Netflix this summer. Also appearing on the new series: Chris Pine, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, John Slattery, and Jason Schwartzman. And probably more. They just debuted a trailer for the miniseries, which doesn't show much beyond the names of the castmembers, but you can watch it below.

The Late Late Show with James Corden will take over for the departing Craig Ferguson on March 23 and it's been announced that Reggie Watts will be the show's bandleader. It's a role Reggie already knows, as he's been doing it on Scott Aukerman's quasi-talk show Comedy Bang Bang! for three seasons. As for that show, Aukerman says, "Reggie is sticking around thru the first half of 2015, during which he have planned a very fitting goodbye for him." Comedy Bang Bang! wraps up its third season this Friday (12/19) and Season 4 begins January 9 on IFC.

Right before the S4 premiere, Reggie will be appearing on Nat Towsen's Downtown Variety Hour which happens at NYC's UCB East on January 5. Other guests include Janeane Garofalo, Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny (#NEWSFAIL, Citizen Radio), and "a special Two Boots Pizza Dedication Ceremony." Reservations (tickets $5) will be available soon.

This past Friday's episode of CBB! was an especially good one, featuring guest Eric Andre and a whole lot of time travel. You can watch it online at IFCtv.com.

It's that time of year again. You can't seem to walk a block without seeing Christmas lights or hearing holiday favorites (all ten of them) from every passing storefront. If you're looking for something beyond "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for the hundredth time, there's no shortage of holiday-themed shows over the next few weeks. (Though some of them, however, may include that old chestnut.) Here's a few of them:

Sloan Wainwright is bringing the full band version of her intimate project to City Winery on Sunday (12/7) for a special holiday-centric show with the similarly minded Peter Stampfel & The Ether Frolic Mob (who plays new Greenpoint venue Aviv the night before) as well as performances from Cosy Sheridan, Muppeteer Peter Linz, Sam McTavey and more. Tickets for the show are on sale now. You can also catch Sloan at her niece and nephew Rufus and Martha Wainwright'sholiday shows at Town Hall later in the month, one of which features, among many many others, Cyndi Lauper who's doing her own guest-filled holiday show.

Old 97's lead singer and prolific solo artist Rhett Miller is hosting his second annual holiday shindig at City Winery on December 16. The "Holiday Extravaganza" features music from Miller and comedy from Jen Kirkman, Dave Hill, Wyatt Cenac and more. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Like last year,B.B. King Blues Club is hosting a slew of shows dedicated to the holiday celebrations. There's the club's annual Christmas party hosted by Ronnie Spector on December 20 (tickets), and four shows from another Phil Spector protege, Darlene Love, on December 19, 26, 27 and January 2.Tickets for all four shows are still available.

For those celebrating the other major religious holiday during this season, a cappella group The Maccabeats are having their annual Hanukkah show at B.B. King's on December 25 with support from Y-Studs.Tickets are on sale now.

Another option is "Christmas for the Jews" at City Winery. The stand-up show features sets from Avi Liberman, Jon Fisch, Cory Kahaney and more. Sold out.

Meanwhile, Matisyahu plays his annual "Festival of Light" show on December 20 at Best Buy Theater.Tickets for that show are still available.

What else? You can catch Dave Hill, his band Valley Lodge, Todd Barry, Janeane Garofalo, Bridget Everett, Chris DiStefano, Larry Murphy and more at "Meet Me Under The Mistletoe and Tell Me All Your Secrets" on December 10 at The Bell House.Tickets for the show are still available.

As discussed, there's a few other holiday shows at The Bell House including Norah Jones' country band Puss 'N' Boots,The Sweetback Sisters, Eliot & Ilana Glazer, Wasabassco's 70's Christmas Carol and what's sure to be a very magical show presented by Harry & the Potters.

Bridget Everett will also perform at drag king legend Murray Hill's holiday show with Carmine Covelli (who's in Bridget's band The Tender Moments and The Julie Ruin), and burlesque performers Perle Noire, Trixie Little and Mr. Gorgeous on December 13 at Le Poisson Rouge.Tickets for that show are still available.

Another Christmas comedy show is Dan St. Germain's Christmas Spectacular at Union Hall on December 16 with sets from Brooks Wheelan, Jared Logan, Kevin Barnett, Jacqueline Novak and Team Submarine.Tickets for that show are still available.

Also at Union Hall, on December 14 (tix) is a Christmas edition of their monthly "Muppet Vault" series where they'll show classic holiday TV special Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas (done here as a singalong) and other appropriate clips from Muppetland.

For a night of music and comedy, there's Aimee Mann & Ted Leo'sChristmas tour stop at Town Hall on December 13 with Fred Armisen, The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and geek-rocker Jonathan Coulton.Tickets for that show are still available.

Kevin Devine, Bird of Youth @ HiFi
Kevin Devine's old band Miracle of '86 played HiFi a good amount back when it was called Brownies and regularly hosted music. Shows are more rare there these days, but they're hosting one there tonight with Kevin returning in solo mode. You can catch him with the full band at Champagne Jam in December.

Lucero @ Bowery Ballroom
Country punk greats Lucero are kicking off a 3-night run at Bowery Ballroom tonight which will have them opening with an acoustic set and then getting rowdy for a full-band set. Let's hope the bar stocked up on whiskey.

Kimbra, Empress Of @ Music Hall of Williamsbug
Kimbra quickly escalated from only being known (in the US) as the other singer on that omnipresent Gotye song to someone who could headline some pretty large rooms. She recently released her first album since that newfound success, The Golden Echo, which features contributions from The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth and others.

As discussed, there's a benefit for Doctors Without Borders (who are on the front lines of dealing with the ebola crisis in Africa) going down at NYC's Irving Plaza on November 19 with an awesome lineup of Fred Armisen, Jim Gaffigan, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Hannibal Buress, and Ted Leo, plus hosts Greg Barris and Jena Friedman. We mentioned that more acts would be added and we now know of two more good ones: Regina Spektor and radio/TV personality Ira Glass. Ira will be performing with dancers Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass, who joined him this past September for the premiere of their show, "Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host."Tickets are still available. Stay tuned for any more updates.

While ebola mania has Americans rapt with fear, the reality is that the chances of it becoming a real, widespread epidemic here is basically nil. As far as viruses go, ebola is pretty terrifying and I can see why people would be freaking out and why the news media would use it as fodder to scare the shit out of us. But it's not an airborne virus like the flu; you have to physically come in contact with it. And according to Dr. Jon LaPook over at CBS, "Every single Ebola outbreak in Africa over the past 40 years has been brought under control with standard infectious disease measures -- basically, isolating infected patients and tracking down their contacts." So once a case is identified, measures are taken to ensure it gets isolated. At least, that's what we hope will happen.

The real urgency simply isn't here on American soil; it's in Africa where they do not have the infrastructure to adequately deal with viral epidemics like this. There, it is much harder to contain and much easier to spread. Right now, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) is on the front lines of dealing with the crisis in Africa. 80% of their funding comes from private donors, and what better way to contribute than with an awesome benefit show with awesome talent at an awesome venue? On Wednesday November 19 Irving Plaza will host and MSF/DWB International Fundraiser to help fight Ebola in West Africa. The event will be hosted by Klaus favorites Greg Barris and Jena Friedman and will feature appearances from Fred Armisen, Jim Gaffigan, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Hannibal Buress, and Ted Leo. Many, many more acts will be added to the bill. Onsale date/time are still TBD as well but should be available via Livenation soon, but mark your calendars and keep your eyes on BV for updates.

Meanwhile, tickets are still available for a show benefiting another good cause. Seth Herzog (Fallon, 'Sweet,' Comedy Central, NatGeo), Christian Finnegan (Comedy Central, VH1, Conan), Damien Lemon (Half Hour, Guy Code), Dan Soder (Conan, Guy Code, O&A) and Michelle Wolf (Late Night w/ Seth Meyers), and The Amigos Band will convene at the Bell House on Thursday (10/23) to raise money for 'Stand Up for Rockaway,' the organization still helping the Rockaways rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Use code "ROCKAWAY" when buying tickets to get $10 off.

You can also catch Greg Barris during CMJ at Union Hall on Friday (10/24) for a special edition of his "Hearts of Darkness" show, featuring Shonali Bhowmik, Corn Mo, Larry Murphy, The Forgiveness, and "surprise guests!" Tickets are on sale and you can use your CMJ badge if you have one.

Tenacious D's Festival Supremeis back for a second year, this time happening at LA Sports Arena & Exposition Park on October 25. The laffstravaganza (with music too) features over 40 performers, and if you are into comedy it's a pretty "holy crap" lineup, including The State, Workaholics, Metalocalypse, Cheech & Chong, The Eagles of Death Metal, The Dan Band, Peaches, Doug Benson, Dr. Demento and lots more (including the 'D themselves). Full 2014 lineup is listed below.

Back in December I tried to hip you l'il pups to a new comedic series called "The Talk Show Series Presents..." which takes place, sporadically, in the back room of Williamsburg bar Over the Eight. (Aka the bar that used to be Royal Oak.) The series is a talk-show formatted live show featuring a revolving cast of hosts and guests. My first experience with this fantastic show was back 0n December 5 and that particular installment of the show was hosted by Bobby Tisdale and featured guests Mike Doughty, Jon Benjamin, Andy Blitz, Tim Harrington, and SNL cast member Noel Wells. The show was loose, unscripted, and unbearably fun and featured an absolutely stunning closing number by the great Mike Doughty. It was the most fun I had had in a long time, and I have been eagerly awaiting a follow up installment ever since.

And that wait is finally over! This week, the lucky few who can squeeze into the intimate back room of Over the Eight can thrill to not one but two epic installments of "The Talk Show Series Presents!" The shows, which happen on Thursday (2/27) and Friday (2/28), are titled The Talk Show Series Presents: THE KEVIN CORRIGAN SHOW, and are both hosted by wicked famous actor Kevin Corrigan. The Thursday February 27 instalment features Janeane Garofalo, Steve Buscemi (!), music by Daniel Harnett, and a super, super, unbelievable special guest whose identity I cannot even hint at besides saying he is one of NYC's biggest political figures of all time. If you are lucky enough to be at this show, you'll be so shocked that this man is sitting just a few feet in front of you that you won't even be able to applaud; you'll be too busy processing what you are experiencing. Doors are at 7:30 PM and the show is free. Get there early.

Then On Friday (2/28), enjoy a second installment of The Talk Show Series Presents: THE KEVIN CORRIGAN SHOW. This time, Kevin brings guests Michael Rappaport (currently on Justified), Jonathan Ames (wordsmith, pugilist), Frederic Seaman (John Lennon's personal assistant!) and music from Mirah (who has a new LP and a headlining show in April). There's another special musical guest on the bill who I also am unable to divulge, but I believe they will be billed as "Kelly Slater Sangre". Doors are at 7:30pm and the show is free. Get there early.

Yo La Tengo @ The Bell House
One of the many sad things about Maxwell's closing this year was that Yo La Tengo's annual Hannukah shows would no longer be happening. It's not quite the same but their four sold-out holiday shows at The Bell House will hopefully have some of the same spirit and surprises. This is the final night.

There's not too much going on tonight, but if you do feel like going out, maybe it's a good night to check out something for the first time like Park Slope's Barbes, which hosts its weekly shows from Brain Cloud (7 PM) and Chica Libre (9:30 PM) tonight.

It isn't often that I dedicate a single post to a single one-off show, but sometimes one pops-up that has such a great line-up and whose proceeds go to such a great charity that I gotta spill it. On Tuesday October 22, Gramercy Theater will play host to an event called A Night of Comedy, Music and Other Awesome Stuff. The purpose of this event is to benefit an organization called OneKid OneWorld and their projects in Kenya and El Salvador:

OneKid OneWorld provides a foundation for education in impoverished communities throughout Kenya and El Salvador by giving children from primary school up through secondary school the opportunity for a better and brighter future.

By providing the basic needs of learning fundamentals like desks and books as well as paying teachers' salaries, building classrooms and even installing solar power technology so students can study at night, OneKid continues to make a tremendous impact not just on individual lives, but communities as a whole.

If that's not something you can get behind then you're a monster and belong in my nightmares and not amongst humanity. The line-up so far is preposterously awesome and features sets by David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Eugene Mirman, Judah Friedlander, Wyatt Cenac and Todd Barry. Attendees will also thrill to music care of the great Rhett Miller from the Old 97's. The show also promises appearances from other "stars from stage and screen," though these add-ons are still TBD.

Tickets are currently on-sale and are available in three different options ranging from $50 - $85; front section VIP tickets (including close to the stage seating, a OKOW t-shirt and three raffle tickets) are $85, reserved seating just behind the VIP section are $65 and General Admission tickets are $50. So reach into those coffers of yours and pull out some dough and make a difference in the life of someone who cannot even fathom the privileges you take for granted on a daily basis and get rewarded with an incredible show. And don't forget that Gramercy sells those gigantic cans of Budweiser which are basically the best.

While I have your attention, apropos of nothing, please see my new favorite YouTube video of all time. Great song, great concept, hilarious main character, and a sweet ass cameo you gotta see to believe at the 2:33 mark.

Wesley Stace (who used to go by his stage name John Wesley Harding, but is now using his real name) is set to release a new album, Self-Titled, on September 7 via Yep Rec Records. Two of the songs on the album -- "Stare at the Sun" and "When I Knew" -- were co-written by Wesley for Eleanor Friedberger's Personal Record, and they appear here in alternate versions. You can stream those versions, along with the album tracklist, below.

Wesley will also be taking his Cabinet of Wonders variety show on tour this year. The tour begins in NYC on September 13 at City Winery for a show that includes Decemberists side project Black Prairie, Janeane Garofalo, Keren Ann, Jim Lauderdale, Jon Mooallem, and Jon Ronson. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

The tour also hits City Winery again on October 18 and November 22. Ticket info and the full list of performers are forthcoming for those two. You can check City Winery's site for updates.

All tour dates are listed, along with the song streams and tracklist, below...

Liam is recording his debut album with ASpecialThing records (home of Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, WTF with Marc Maron, Doug Loves Movies).
It doesn't have a title yet. It used to, but then he changed his mind.
Also, Cathryn Lynne took this lovely art:

That's the art Liam speaks of above. Grab your tickets at the links above before they're all gone.

Nick Offerman, who we recently interviewed, produced and stars in new comedy Somebody Up There Likes Me, which also features Keith Poulson, Jess Weixler, Stephanie Hunt, and Kevin Corrigan. The film also features a score by Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio. Here's the synopsis:

Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman stars in this deadpan comedic fable with touches of the supernatural. In possession of a magical suitcase, Max (Poulson), his best friend Sal (Offerman), and the woman they both adore stumble through 35 years of unfulfilling entanglements. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at last year's Locarno Film Festival, this "highly original and delightfully unorthodox" (The Hollywood Reporter) ensemble piece features an original score by Vampire Weekend's Chris Baio, showcases stunning animated sequences by Bob Sabiston (A Scanner Darkly), stars Will & Grace's Megan Mullaly and character actor Marshall Bell (Total Recall), and boasts cameos by indie stalwarts Andrew Bujalski, Alex Ross Perry, Kate Lyn Sheil, and others.

You can watch the trailer below.

The film premieres in NYC this week at BAM Rose Cinemas (Mar 29--Apr 4). The 7 and 9:30 PM screenings on Friday, March 29 will also feature Q&A's with Offerman, Baio, Poulson and director Bob Byington. On Saturday, March 30, the 7 PM screening has a Q&A with Offerman and Byington, and the 9:30 with Offerman, Byington, and Poulson. Get your tickets now.

Doug Benson, in caricature form...

In other comedy/movie news, Doug Benson will be in NYC on April 2 at Gramercy Theatre to do a live taping of his popular Doug Loves Movies podcast. That is sold out, but he just added another Gramercy DLM appearance on July 1 and tickets for that show are on sale now and still available. All Doug Benson dates are below.

Wyatt Cenac

Wyatt Cenac's Night Train comedy show happens at Littlefield every Monday. This week's (3/25) guests include Hari Kondabolu, John F. O'Donnell, Rojo Perez, Ed Gavagan, and John McKeeverTickets are still available.

Speaking of Wyatt, he'll also be at The Bell House on March 31 as part of Tell Your Friends! The Spring Fling! with Janeane Garofalo, W. Kamau Bell and Allison Castillo. Tickets are still available.

Similarly named and at the same venue a few days later, Pretty Good Friends with hosts Eugene Mirman and John Hodgman comes to The Bell House on April 3. Wyatt Cenac will be at this one too, as will H. Jon Benjamin of Archer/Bob's Burgers/etc fame. Tickets are still available!

One more: A live taping of Julie Klausner's How Was Your Week? podcast happens at The Bell House on April 5. Guests include Max Silvestri, Ted Leo, chef Pichet Ong, and Siggy Flicker. Tickets are still available.

The Somebody Up There Likes Me trailer and Doug Benson tour dates are listed below...

Jon Glaser's Adult Swim series Delocated, a fake reality show about a guy in the Witness Protection Program, was one of the strangest, funniest shows of the last 10 years. (I thought so at least.) Last week the show sailed off into the sunset with a one-off series finale, but Jon will take one more trip to the bone zone, live on stage in NYC. The "The Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show" happens at Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 29 and features castmembers Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry, Angie Pontani, Steve Cirbus and Janeane Garofalo will be be on hand, as will a surprise music guest. What exactly will go down is anyone's guess, but we can only hope there will be a potato skins bar.

Tickets for this extravaganza go on sale on Wednesday (3/13) at noon. Some choice Delocated clips below...

Todd Barry, after a delay due to Sandy, will be celebrating 25 years in comedy in December at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Guests at the 12/19 show, which is still on sale, are now listed as Janeane Garofalo, Ted Alexandro, Jim Gaffigan and Eugene Mirman (who hosted his own show at the Bell House on Sunday) (Nick Kroll was a secret guest). Get a ticket before it's too late!

If you don't get a ticket though, there are plenty more chances ot see Todd inside and outside NYC, at places big and small, and even additional times with Janeane Garofalo. One day after the Bell House show, and one day after that, and one day after that, Todd and Janeane will play an assortment of co-headlining shows at NYC's Eastville Comedy Club (where tickets are $20 each AND there's a two drink minimum).

But wait... wait until January because that's Todd will bring the "CROWD WORK TOUR" to the intimate, basement of Union Hall in Brooklyn for two shows on 1/21. Tickets, $12 each, are on sale now for EARLY and LATE.

It's that time of year again, judging by the posts on this site today, with lots of Holiday-themed shows coming up. Unsurprisingly, The Bell House lives for this kind of yuletide cheer and has about a dozen or so holiday shows lined up in the next month. Here's a rundown.

First is the Everything's Terrible! Holiday Special 2012 which happens December 12 (tickets). If you think the Star Wars Holiday Special is the worst Christmas-related thing television has ever birthed, the Everything's Terrible folks will likely prove you wrong. For an early taste, there's a trailer for the crap extravanga below, along with a list of all dates for this ironic roadshow which is touring both coasts at the same time.

On the next night (12/13) it's The Party Machine's 2nd Annual Holiday Benefit Blowout with hosts Arden Myrin and Lisa Delarios with guests Jon Glaser, Chris Gethard, Sheng Wang, Janeane Garofalo and Adira Amram & the Experience with proceeds going to Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue and Red Cross Disaster Relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Tickets are $12 and still available but probably not for long -- don't delay.

More funny stuff (with music): On December 16, Fred Armisen hosts The Snow Ball Ball: A Winter Formal To Benefit 826NYC, with guest DJs Tunde Adebimpe and Peter Hale of Here We Go Magic. Tickets are still available.

And for ska fans there's The Slackers Christmas Celebration on 12/22 which also celebrates the band's 20th anniversary. The show also features The Frightnrs, Sammy K, and Caz & the Day Laborers. Tickets are still available.

Wait there's still more holiday fun at The Bell House: for burlesque fans there's Doc Wasabassco's Birthday Celebration And All-Holiday Party on 12/14 (tickets); for the wizards and muggles out there, you can celebrate at The Harry Potter Yule Ball 2012 on 12/15 with Harry And The Potters, Potter Puppet Pals, The Whomping Willows, and The Home Alones (tickets); later that night (12/15) it's The Rub's Holiday party with Eleven & Ayres and special guests Kon & 7L' and for those who need some twang in their stocking, on December 16 it's The Suzi Shelton Band's Fourth Annual Rockin' Holiday Party with Amelia Robinson From Mil's Trills (tickets).

Everything Is Terrible trailer and flyer for the Snowball Ball are below.

I am going to spare you my usual editorializing and get right to the meat of the situation here. Basically, there is an absolute shit-ton of comedy and benefit type shows coming to the Bell House. I hope you like brass tacks, because I'm going to get right down to them.

Hey, did you get tickets for PROFESSOR BLASTOFF LIVE with Hosts Tig Notaro, Kyle Dunnigan, David Huntsberger plus a special guest? It happens at the Bell House on Saturday November 17 (aka this Saturday!) and, man, it sure as hell sold out.

The evening kicks off with a square dance, hosted by NYC Barn Dance. Roseanne Cash will headline the evening, and Jesse Lenat, John Pinamonti and the Brotherhood of the Whiskey Spitter Rebellion will play. Michael Buscemi will screen his new film on the bus that runs through Red Hook, called "B61."

This show will benefit Restore Red Hook. Restore Red Hook aims to raise funds to help the small businesses of Red Hook, Brooklyn reopen their doors as soon as possible after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

On Sunday, November 25th at 8:00pm, as mentioned, the Bell House and Pretty Good Friends team up for a Hurricane Relief Benefit featuring A Very Funny 'F*ck You' To Sandy. The show will be hosted by Eugene Mirman and feature comedy from a powerhouse line up including Jon Glaser, Wyatt Cenac, Mike Birbiglia , Michael Che and more. I am vexed that this show isn't sold out, so get your tickets now!!

And speaking of Wyatt Cenac, check him out a little less than a month later at the much smaller Union Hall when, on Friday December 21, he'll be part of the comedy roster at The Afterlife Comedy Show. The show is gang-hosted by Emily Heller, George Gordon, Erin Judge, and Josh Gondelman. The show is a measly eight bucks and besides Wyatt and the awesome hosts and hostess there will be more comedy to boot!

On Friday November 30Nick Kroll, one of my all time favorite comedians, takes the stage for a headlining show at the Bell House. Sadly, this show sold out faster than a speeding bullet. I am still recovering from wounds sustained during a self-flagellation sesh I performed on myself upon realizing this had happened. But keep your eye on the Bell House twitter feed in case they release more tickets. Or, go hang outside the venue before the show because I promise you there will be many-a nimrod out there with extra tickets they'd sell for face.

Allow me to go ahead and continue to mention another great Wyatt Cenac related show, this one happening at the Bell House on Wednesday December 5th; for on Wednesday December 5th you can thrill to the THE TELL YOUR FRIENDS! THE CONCERT FILM! RELEASE SHOW/SANDY BENEFIT (caps totally necessary). Join host Liam McEneaney as he brings to the stage Wyatt Cenac, Aaron Freeman (formerly Gene Ween), Christian Finnegan, Victor Varnado, A Brief View of The Hudson, Rob Paravonian , and more! The guests WILL be quite special, your money is going to a good cause, and it's not sold out yet. Get yer tix now!

On Thursday December 6 the Bell House will be the site of two live podcast recordings of How Did This Get Made? A Live Podcast With Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael. The early show went on sale and promptly sold out, but they added a late show (Thank Cod!) and tix for that are currently still available. Kaboom!

Flash forward a week later to Thursday December 13 and the Bell House will play host to The Party Machine's 2nd Annual Holiday Benefit Blowout! The show is hosted by the EXTREMELY funny and wonderful Arden Myrin and Lisa Delarios and features and atomic line-up of comedians including Jon Glaser, Chris Gethard, Sheng Wang, Janeane Garofalo and Adira Amram and the Experience. Tickets are only $12 and it will sell out, so git along l'il doggie and buy some tix!

Two days later on Friday December 21, toddle on over to the Bell House for John Hodgman: That Is All. December 21, 2012 is the last day of the Mayan long count calendar and many buffoons and dipshits are prophesizing that this day marks certain doom for mankind. Along with musician Cynthia Hopkins and other special guests, Hodgman will count down to midnight, when his predictions will be proved TRUE! Or else FALSE! Tickets are on sale, but not for long! I prophesize a sell out!

Eugene Mirman, who performed at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin earlier this week (11/4), continues to do his 'Pretty Good Friends' show at Union Hall every Sunday, and he'll also be doing one at The Bell House on November 25 to benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief dubbed "A Very Funny 'Fuck You' To Sandy." In addition to Mirman, the lineup for the show includes Jon Glaser, Wyatt Cenac, Mike Birbiglia, Michael Che, and more. Tickets are on sale now and 100% of proceeds will be donated to the Brooklyn Recovery Fund.

Eugene is also one of the guests at the Comedy for NYWC show at Highline Ballroom on December 2 with Janeane Garofalo and Dave Hill. But as mentioned, Mike Birbligia, who plays the Bell House show with Mirman, is no longer listed on the lineup of that show, but "special guests" still are.

As mentioned, Wyatt Cenac began his new weekly 'Night Train' comedy show at Littlefield last night (11/5), replacing Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler's now-defunct 'Hot Tub' show that used to happen on Mondays at the Brooklyn venue.

Speaking of Janeane Garofalo, she'll be at Tell Your Friends at Union Hall on Wednesday (11/7) with Liam McEneaney (who hosts an election viewing party at The Bell House tonight), Frank Conniff, Tanya O'Debra, host Victory Varnado, and house band AM to AM.

As a longtime fan of the great Mike Birbiglia, I always do my best to spread the word whenever I hear of an upcoming NYC Birbigs happening. The other day someone forwarded me a Ticketweb link to a show happening at the Highline Ballroom on Sunday December 2nd called 'Inside Jokes': a benefit for NYWC's Justice Writing Program featuring Mike Birbiglia. "Sweet. Article time," thought I. So I go to get started on a quick write-up for BV, head over to the ticketweb link and, KABOOMsky... no more Birbiglia. Turns out, he is no longer on the bill but other Klaus favorites Janeane Garafolo, Dave Hill, Eugene Mirman ARE on the bill as are Special Guests. Could Birbiglia be a special guest? One wonders. Either way, it's a great line-up regardless, and the charity NYWC is more than worth some of your time and money.

NYWC stands for New York Writers Coalition (not New York Water Closets, as I initially ass-umed).

NYWC creates opportunities for formerly voiceless members of society to be heard through the art of writing. We provide free, unique and powerful creative writing workshops throughout New York City for people from groups that have been historically deprived of voice in our society, including at-risk and disconnected youth, the homeless and formerly homeless, the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, war veterans, people with disabilities, cancer and major illness, immigrants, seniors and others.

Your man Klaus is a big proponent of literacy and of allowing the voices of the "historically deprived" to be heard, one way or another. Standard GA and VIP tickets are currently onsale, and there a field for an optional "access code" (anyone know what it is?). Great show for a great cause. Get on it!

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Meanwhile, you can catch Janeane Garafolo (and Reggie Watts and others) on 11/1 at Todd Barry's 25th Anniversary in Comedy show at the Bell House, if you have a ticket because it's now sold out. Tickets are still available however for the Tell Your Friends! The Halloween Spooktacular with Gilbert Gottfried, Myq Kaplan, Liam McEneaney, Rena Zager, and more at the Bell House on 10/30.

On November 15, Le Poisson Rouge will host "The People's Bailout: A Variety Show and Telethon to Benefit the 99%," a benefit show for Occupy-affiliated organization Strike Debt. The show features a huge (and very impressive) lineup of Jeff Mangum (of Neutral Milk Hotel) (who has played for Occupy Wall Street in the past), Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth) (who has also played for Occupy Wall Street before), Guy Picciotto (of Fugazi), Tunde Adebimpe (of TV on the Radio), Janeane Garofalo, Lizz Winstead, Max Silvestri, Frances Fox Piven, Hari Kondabolu, David Rees, corproate pranksters The Yes Men, John Cameron Mitchell, Climbing Poetree, The invisible Army of Defaulters, members of Healthcare for the 99%, Occupy Faith, and many more. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, November 2 at 10 AM.

Comedian Todd Barry has announced the "TODD BARRY 25TH ANNIVERSARY IN COMEDY SHOW" with special guests Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo,Ted Alexandro, "and more!" Tickets are on sale now for the November 1st event at the Bell House.

A Ben Stiller Show reunion highlights a new round of additions to the New York Comedy Festival which, as discussed before, is happening November 7 - 11. Tickets to this and other events will go on sale today (9/24) at noon.

A critical hit but ratings failure, The Ben Stiller Show got its start on MTV in 1990 and then moved to FOX for a season before being cancelled. In retrospect, it's a who's who of comedy talent, giving early breaks to Bob Odenkirk, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick and writer Judd Apatow, all of whom will be in attendance at the event which happens November 10 at the Paley Center (tickets), along with Jeff Kahn, and Rob Cohen. No sign of castmember David Cross though. A couple classic Ben Stiller Show clips are below.